Sepia Triumph

I have enjoyed 2 1/2 days off so far as though they were leave rather than time off between cycles. My perennially young aunt had a lot to do with that but today my destination was in my own hands. In fact, in the morning, I felt rather flat and demotivated. I am known for my mood swings. Faced with the journey home and another beautiful day, I had to decide between Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop and Didcot Railway Centre (or go to neither). I chose the latter and was not disappointed. With the bank holiday behind us it was a quiet day at Didcot. Whilst a steaming day would provide its own kind of photo-opportunities, a day without crowds provided others. I was gratified to find my way in as it had not been obvious on my previous visit and I considered it extremely good value at £5.

The site is extensive and ideas for photographs abounded as my gaze fell on many subjects beyond the obvious locomotives. I had a wonderful time but gave myself a scare at lunchtime. As I placed my lunch on the outside table, I realised I no longer had my shoulder bag with me. I had left it on a locomotive as I was taking pictures and, fortunately, found it quickly. My sausage, chips and beans rather stuck to my teeth after that fright.

It can be difficult to stay creative after a period of stimulation such as that containing my visits to Blooms and Cardiff and that is why I had felt ambivalent about today's opportunities. I am glad though that I went and deeply satisfied with my photographs. I am particularly proud of the sepia image I am now using at the head of this blog. Here are two more of my near-abstracts.

The Three Crowns, Brinkworth

The Three Crowns at Brinkworth near Swindon is worth a drive but visit an ATM or check your credit card limit first. First impressions were mixed. There are some quirks of restaurants I do not like. The Three Crowns does not do starters. In explaining this they intimated that a main course and dessert would challenge most people. Later they commented on our cleared plates although the portions had been good but not huge. There are no menus as everything is written on blackboards. One such, with 'lighter' dishes (and lighter prices) is hidden away and requires customers' attention to be drawn to it. Vegetarians are served by two dishes amongst an almost bewildering array of meat which extends from steak and chicken to ostrich, wild boar and, believe it or not, crocodile. I thought we might be on a slippery slope when neither Greg's first choice of veal nor his second choice of boar was available. His ostrich came with a rich sauce and tasted better than it smelt; served pink, its bloodiness lent an almost fishy and not very appetising smell. However, he enjoyed it. My Thai style chicken pie - one does not readily associate Thailand with puff pastry - was actually very good as was my aunt's chicken stroganoff. The accompanying dish of 5 or 6 vegetables seemed at first inappropriate to any of the main courses but in fact suited all well. All ingredients were of evident quality and the vegetables were properly cooked. The dauphinoise was particularly good.

If the main courses were expensive, then the dessert menu (an actual menu) was positively scary. The fare though somewhat justified the prices. My aunt's trifle pleased her and my duo of brulee was verging on the sublime. Both dishes were beautifully presented and my accompaniment of home made raspberry ice cream was first class. Greg's cheeseboard was generous in quantity and choice with delicious cheese and plenty of biscuits.

In a highly competitive market and in an area not lacking in eating choices, The Three Crowns will need to consider where it goes with its prices. For the time being the excellent food and spacious accommodation make a visit worthwhile.

7.5 out of 10 for excellent food at challenging prices.

Cardiff Bay Revisited

The day dawned brighter and clearer than in the whole of August, a month now nearly at its end. We fed on breakfast of toast and marmalade and the starlings outside fed on whatever it is that communally excites them. We set off for Cardiff with my aunt and had a very pleasant drive. Our timing was such that we would beat the worst of the bank holiday crowds in (and out). The Mermaid Quay car park had plenty of spaces and Cardiff Bay was understandably busy.
I don’t much care for fairs and craft markets but they were an inevitable part of the weekend. Crowded though it was, it was all at least as pleasant as last time and I was pleased to be back. We saw an extremely interesting short film show in the Pierhead Building and looked around before boarding the boat ‘Cygnet’ of Cardiff Waterbus for an excellent 30 minute trip round Cardiff Bay via a short stop at the barrage. There were lots of photographs to be taken although, with the motion of the boat, some verticals were difficult to maintain. I was very pleased with the results. We had lunch in Bosphorus and service was much better than on our last, evening visit. Mixed cold and hot meze were excellent and eating outside extremely pleasant although it did get pretty cool out of the sunshine. We left long before the crowds and had an uneventful journey back. In the evening we ate at The Three Crowns, Brinkworth, reviewed separately.

Bank Holiday West

It is of course compulsory for it to be cool and cloudy on a Bank Holiday weekend. And so it was for much of the time. I worked and was released early enough for it to be of benefit. We gathered our thoughts and possessions and drove to Wroughton to stay with my aunt. She is a young and apparently unstoppable 71. There were some bright patches on our way on the rather pleasant non-motorway route but more gloom when we arrived.

We went to Blooms Garden Centre which has butterflies and animals and presented many photographic opportunities. Some of the photography was unexpectedly challenging because of the constant movements of the animals. Do you have any idea how much meerkats move around? They will not stay still even if you ask and all that digging is I think rather OCDish. A heavy shower interrupted viewing and feeding but did not perturb the otters who, presumably, are used to being wet. I was very pleased but the pleasure did not end there. My aunt took us to the Swindon part of the Wilts & Berks canal and on to Old Wroughton. The late afternoon and evening weather had become bright and beautiful and photography was again inviting. It was a great trip out.

'Simples'

Should Common Sense Be Optional?

There are days which are still young when I have my first outburst. Today was one such. I drove my Mum to her doctor to find the road to it closed and the diversion unviable. There was no alternative side or back road; access to the surgery was annexed. Given that the work with which this closure was associated had not commenced and that 0845 was probably close anyway to a first break for the misleadingly named workmen, I engaged top gear (metaphorically) and set about instigating the introduction of common sense. The sign with the cones said 'Road Closed'. The sheep with whom I share this planet would have accepted this and driven off confused and, eventually, lost. I did not accept it especially when access to the doctor's surgery and, as it hapens, a vet's, had been cut off. This clumsy start to five days of resurfacing works does not acknowledge that many people visiting a doctor are in no fit state to walk from the nearest parking.

Suffice it to say that my short but effective discussion with the foreman resulted in an 'Access Only' sign being added to the 'Road Closed' and elicited an undertaking to maintain access for as much of the works as possible. Why don't they think of these things in the first place? Where is common sense or courtesy in roadworks planning?

Between the Past and the Future

We are all stuck, aren't we, between the past and the future; stuck in a never ending series of moments known as the present. We never quite grasp the present as quickly it moves on to become only a memory. The human condition is essentially one of hope and that defines the role of the future, a place for the better. A place where something new, maybe something exciting, will happen. A part of our minds also demands nostalgia not to mention the more serious role of the past as the place we look to learn whether it be learning at the mother's knee or learning the lessons of world history.

These thoughts define the role and value of photography. A typical photograph captures its image for only 1/100th of a second but most often it captures so much more. Once committed to film or media the image will tell a tale of the past to the future. A look, a place, how things were, how we lived. This then inspires the photographer and is where I found myself in the last couple of days. At the one hour in my chair uploading 1988 and 89 photographs whose value, insofar as they contain images now long deleted by time itself, is inestimable; at the next, wondering what tomorrow might bring in terms of new opportunities to record what soon will be past.

In photography, we are artists more than we are scientists even if, like me, we choose documentary over art photography. The production of an excellent image satisfies another need of the inner being, to be creative, to be worthwhile, to leave something behind.

"It's just a moment.....this time will pass" (U2)

Bexleyheath and Beyond

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Originally uploaded by John Oram

This photograph points you towards my set "UK Buses 1988-89" in Flickr. Not to everyone's taste but as capable of evoking memories as my aircraft photographs. Forgotten operators, forgotten liveries, altered backgrounds.

Join me at www.flickr.com/photos/johnoram